Chuck Sweeny: Dan Rutherford in governor race for long haul

Monday

Feb 24, 2014 at 4:37 PMFeb 24, 2014 at 4:37 PM

State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is in the governor's race to stay, he told the Editorial Board last week.

Rutherford, a former state senator and Republican from central Illinois, has been hit with a federal lawsuit by former employee Ed Michalowski, who claims Rutherford made sexual advances to him and required him to do political work on state time.

Rutherford said that's not true.

"In 22 years of public life, I've never had something like this happen," he said. "It's politically suspect that this was filed five weeks before the election. Here's a guy who has filed for bankruptcy, defaulted in bankruptcy, he's going through a divorce and his home has been foreclosed on."

Rutherford said he wishes he could say more but he can't because of the lawsuit.

Despite the "pretty trying" suit, Rutherford says he's faring well in his campaign.

"My key focus is on getting more people back to work, particularly in the parts of the states where the unemployment rate is high."

He's going to focus his state agency directors to "help create jobs and retain jobs, and not be a barrier to getting a job."

Rutherford said he's encountered examples of the state impeding job creation on his campaign route.

"An agricultural company in Freeport was looking to hire 18 new employees. The state tells them to do something, and they did, and then the state comes back and says, 'OK, now do this.'

"In Kane and Rock Island counties I talked to companies who couldn't pay their quarterly taxes on time because the state website was down."

In a Rutherford administration, "Lt. Gov. Steve Kim (his running-mate) will be in charge of helping people navigate state bureaucracy. I'm going to be chief marketing officer.

"We've got to look at a complete package of what we need to offer companies to come here. We need to offer the lowest possible tax, and to make sure everyone knows we are spending that wisely."

Rutherford opposes a graduated income tax, noting that the government didn't spend money from the temporary 67 percent tax increase wisely.

"In 2011, Gov. Quinn and the General Assembly did not deal with the pension issue, they just raised taxes. We had $8.5 billion in outstanding bills in 2011; now we have $9.5 billion in bills." Clearly, Rutherford said, the tax increase money didn't pay off the bills.

Rutherford opposes an increase in the income tax, but he's not sure he can let the temporary tax increase expire on schedule in 2015.

"I don't know where we're going to be fiscally in January. What if the new pension law is ruled unconstitutional?"

Rutherford says he wants to do a complete evaluation of the tax structure in Illinois.

Rutherford wants to end "fund sweeping," begun under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, in which special funds are raided to prop up the general fund.

And Rutherford especially wants to stop the diversion of money from the road fund to pensions and operations.

All the Republican candidates bow at the altar of Chicago Rockford International Airport when they're in the Forest City.